Gardening

>> I’ve let Nature have her way with most of my modest six acre lot.<<

That's a wonderful approach. When you have a good deal of space, the permaculture zone system can be helpful. Your outer areas could be Zone 4 (little managed but used for wildcrafting) or Zone 5 (unmanaged wilderness).

https://fullcyclepermaculture.com.au/permaculture-zones/

>> What was once farmland, then hay fields, and finally horse pasture, is now a little ‘biome’ of sorts. I’ve watched this go from cedars and Autumn Olive to black cherry, oriental bittersweet and various shrubs, and now with oaks, maple, pine, hickory, sassafras, apple, and other trees added. I’ve even found four holly plants! <<

That sounds wonderful! You've got a great mix of wildlife food plants in there.

>> There are mosses, ivies, wintergreen, and princess pine among the ground covers. Violets and Jack-in-the-Pulpits thrive here along with an abundance of daisies, blue-eyed grasses, and countless other wildflowers. And fungi: from Indian Pipes to Hen of the Woods and so many others in between (and a little fairy ring recently appeared).<<

Very impressive. Jack-in-the-pulpit is a fussy wildflower that usually grows in undisturbed woodlands.

>> Our trail cam has recorded mice and chippies, squirrels and woodchucks, skunks, foxes, rabbits, fishers and bobcats, coyotes (or coywolves, not sure), and, of course, deer :o) The trail cam really made clear that this was a world unto itself! <<

That sounds like a pretty functional ecosystem.

If you have a creek or ditch anywhere, putting a log bridge over that can channel activity. An easy access to water is another good place for a trailcam.

>> Developers are threatening all of what was field and forest here. I’m trying to hold on to ours as long as I can.<<

Alas!

But there are many ways to fight them.

* If you are any good at math, or know someone who is, you can go to town meeting and flog people with some truly terrifying numbers customized to your local. If you are not good at math, you can use generic examples from Strong Towns about why your town is broke, the Growth Ponzi Scheme, the suburban experiment, etc. Emphasize that developing outward costs more money than it makes. Demand that people justify putting the town in debt. Are your roads, sewers, etc. in good repair? You could double taxes and not cover what's needed for roads, let alone anything else. Almost nobody's are, so why are people spending money to make more when they already can't afford to maintain what they have? Monay talks, so harp on how a sprawling development will make the town / county hemorrhage money.

* Suggest alternatives such as productive growth, high value per acre, infill, and small developers. As a bonus, these make nicer places to live, more walkable neighborhoods, and more affordable housing.

* Your town can further save money and generate tax revenues by introducing a pre-approved selection (2-3 models per category is a good start) for needed buildings. Consider tiny homes, craft or workshop sheds, garage apartments, duplexes, live-work buildings, and 1-3 bedroom houses. The missing middle is an excellent choice in general.

* Consider the ecovillage model. You buy the same size of land parcel, but instead of platting it as a suburb, you put all the infrascructure in a tight node near the main road. Use townhouses, cottages, etc. in a cluster instead of scattered, plus a common house and if you want one a workhouse (offices, workshops, etc.). The rest of the space can be left forest and/or fields for things like wildcrafting, forestry, gardening, an orchard, a flock of chickens, etc. You save tremendously on development and upkeep costs by concentrating the infrastructure, but you get to keep the lovely rural part of the land too. It's cheaper to build and to live in. You can fit the same number of units in a smaller place if they have a smaller footprint, or maybe even add more units

https://www.housebrothers.co.uk/images/eco-villages/eco-village.jpg

https://providencecohousing.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/cottages-at-river-hill-siteplanphase4-27-151-1024x762.jpg

https://www.novato.org/home/showpublishedimage/10166/637170150176530000


* Check for climate change issues. A 50-year-old forest absorbs much more carbon than any other use of that land. Some places have begun rules that limit how much carbon absorbtion can be cut down, or alternatively, require developers to pay for care of forests elsewhere. That runs up their costs and makes them look for softer targets elsewhere. Even if all you can do is delay them, it costs them money, which undermines the total damage they do.

* Check for ecological issues. Does your state have endangered plants, animals, etc. listed? If so, look for them in your locale. If you're seeing Jack-in-the-pulpit and Indian pipe, that ecosystem is good enough it may be supporting other fussy species suffering from habitat loss. This can block outright or greatly limit what developers can do. Furthermore, if you show off your yard and its uncommon species to as many folks as possible, and look for other nearby spaces where you could do that, it will add to the impact. People protect what they love. Could some of the land be turned into a campground, park, or other place to benefit both people and wildlife? And preferably also the local economy.

* Restore old-growth features in your woods and encourage other neighbors to do likewise. This makes them more valuable, attracts rarer and fussier species, which makes it harder to justify clearcutting them for development.

https://dem.ri.gov/sites/g/files/xkgbur861/files/programs/bnatres/forest/pdf/riforest.pdf

https://wildlandsandwoodlands.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Wildlands-in-New-England-Rhode-Island-Summary.pdf

https://extension.unh.edu/sites/default/files/migrated_unmanaged_files/Resource000429_Rep451.pdf

https://masswoods.org/sites/default/files/pdf-doc-ppt/Restoring-Old-Growth-Characteristics.pdf

https://www.stateforesters.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/State-Responses-to-Old-growth-RFI_08302022-Appendix.pdf


* Look for your natural allies -- people who love the land the way it is. Nature groups, farmers, anyone who depends on tourists, etc. will benefit more from the land as it is now than stripped bare for a suburb. The urban movements like Strong Towns resist sprawl. Strength in unity.

You have an excellent case for blocking wasteful development of what is now pretty good forest/meadow.